


Coyote

by LittlexSheep



Series: LtR AU ficlets and drabbles [12]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Learning the Ropes AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 10:50:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16217504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlexSheep/pseuds/LittlexSheep
Summary: A memory of Jesse's time under Deadlock's wing, and how things began to turn.





	Coyote

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Cactus Bloom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11390217) by [LittlexSheep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlexSheep/pseuds/LittlexSheep). 



> I know I have.......so many WIPs. Life's been hectic as hell but at least I wrote anything at all, right?
> 
> Cactus Bloom is to be read before this; there's a lot of time jumps in that fic and I intend to fill the gaps lol.
> 
> And of course this ALL stems from Learning the Ropes by Purely_A_Trashcan.
> 
> [This was pretty rushed posting, let me know if I need to tag or something]

“Well lookit this one. Starin’ like a starved coyote.”

Jesse flinches back instinctively, but it's too late too hide in the safety of the dark hallway. All conversation at the long dining table has ceased in favor of turning their attention on the teenager spying on them. 

Well, he wasn't _spying_. He was just eyeing the pizza boxes scattered open across the table, trying to plot on how to get some food in his own stomach. 

“Go back to bed, Jess,” Xander calls from his place at the table. Jesse can't see him from where he's slunk back halfway in the shadows, but he can imagine that disappointed scowl on his face already. Xan had told him to stay away, now here he was interrupting their entire meeting.

“Boy looks hungry, c’mon Xan. We can feed ‘em, huh?” A dark rumble of laughter goes across the room and the one who spoke up grins when Jesse creeps out just a bit further at the comment. 

The men are beckoning him like they would an animal: cooing and clicking and gesturing for him to come close. Jesse steps closer, eyes on the prize: an open box with two slices still inside, the closest one to him. He can see Xan now, in the corner of his eye, taking a long drink from the whiskey glass in his hand. They're all drinking, he realizes in the back of his mind. He can smell it more and more the closer he gets. 

“He gets fed plenty,” Xan finally says, green eyes glaring, “We just woke him up is all. Go back to bed, Jesse.”

A second warning. Not good. But he's lying. Jesse’s so damn hungry. Xan’s been gone a lot lately, not bringing home food for them anymore. The school lunches aren't free but the cafeteria workers take mercy on him most days and slide a tray of food his way. It's barely a half portion of what a boy his age, body still desperately trying to grow and develop, should be eating for a meal, but he doesn't complain. Food is food. 

Jesse’s growling stomach betrays them both and the men only chuckle in response. “C’mere,” one of them drawls out, and it gets quiet. The man who spoke is piercing Jesse in place with his stare. His voice lent no amusement and definitely no room to argue. Jesse obeys, finally, standing in front of the man where he's sitting parallel to the table. 

“Sit.” A finger points down at his feet and Jesse obliges, plopping down on the floor with his long legs crossed beneath him. The man grabs a box from the table and tosses it to the ground in front of Jesse, the top springing open to reveal an entire pizza untouched by anyone's dirty hands. “Eat,” the man commands, and Jesse dives in without a word. 

A hand is petting through his hair as he eats like a starved thing, and Jesse can't help but lean into it, more touch starved from Xander’s frequent absences than he realized. 

“This is McCree’s boy?” The man asks the room. Everyone is eager to answer, nodding and murmuring out affirmations. “An’ what's he doin’ here, Xan?”

“I look after him,” Xan speaks up, “He was miserable at his Pa’s, Hank. He likes it with me.” There's a pause, then Xan raises his voice. “Don't you, Jess?”

Jesse nods without looking up, on his third slice of pizza now. He's starting to slow down, actually tasting what he's throwing down his throat now. His stomach is cramping just slightly from how fast he's eating, but it doesn't bother him. 

The hand stroking his hair--Hank’s hand--grabs at his chocolate brown locks just enough to get Jesse’s attention and raise his head up. “That true, boy?” Hank rumbles, eyeing him intently. Jesse nods again, swallowing his mouthful. 

“Yeah. Xan’s the best.” Jesse drops his gaze. “He's been gone a lot though. I miss ‘em.” He chances a glance at Xan, fearing he'd see anger in his eyes. But Xan’s face has gone soft, lips pressed tightly together and eyebrows raised slightly, like the look he gets when he's apologizing for getting rough with Jesse again. 

(Jesse doesn't mind; Jesse never minds. Xan’s just a passionate man. It's just how he shows his feelings, when they're alone in the dark.)

“That why you've been askin’ for a transfer? Miss your boy?” A few chuckles at that from around the table. Xan shrugs, looking back at Hank. 

Hank pats Jesse on the shoulder. “Run off, boy. Take the box with you.” Jesse scurries away easily, back to the bedroom with the rest of his food. The box is empty in the next five minutes, leaving Jesse to curl up in bed groaning and trying not to wastefully vomit up what he had just wolfed down. 

\---

“--can’t be of any good right now, boss. He wants to stay in school an’ graduate an’ all that shit. I don’t know what he thinks he’s gonna do after all that.”

Jesse blinks awake. The pain in his stomach has subsided, but it’s still dark outside; he must have only been out an hour or so. He can hear footsteps approaching the bedroom, along with Xan and Hank speaking to one another as they walk. Jesse’s heart flips in his chest when he hears the door squeaking open, and shuts his eyes again.

It’s quiet for a moment. Jesse almost thinks maybe the door just opened by itself until Hank finally speaks.

“You know he’s gotta contribute, Xan. Bein’ under a Deadlock roof, usin’ Deadlock money to feed him and send him to school… Ain’t nothin’ in this group free.”

“He’s just a pup. I can’t--”

“You’re barely older than he is. By what, a year? Two?”

“‘Bout a year n’ a half or more, sir.”

“An’ when did you join?”

A sigh. Jesse knows Xan’s eyes are closed, centering himself, ready to give up the struggle. “I see your point. I reckon… I reckon he could run small errands. Just don’t want him in trouble.”

Someone steps closer in another beat of quiet. “He’s a pretty boy. The men all seem to think so.”

“Hank--”

“I don’t wanna hear no more against it. He’s either a liability or an asset, an’ you know what happened to the last liability I found among us.”

“Right. Fine. We’ve got Tony inside the school. I’ll have the kid run his deliveries to him from now on. Less suspicious lookin’ than what’s set up now.”

One pair of footsteps started to leave. “Atta boy. We’ll see what else he’s good for.”

Jesse could feel Xan staring at him, silence hanging in the air. Jesse almost wanted to sit up, to ask him what was wrong, what was happening. He knew Xan was mad, he knew it, he knew--

“Oh, Jess,” came the sigh, “What have you done?” 

Another pair of footsteps left the room.

\---

Math is hard. Jesse always saves math homework for last. He’s trying his best to focus, but it’s just not clicking. He’s focusing so much on trying to remember the formula without looking that he barely notices Xan and yet another man trading money and god knows what behind him. It’s a common occurrence these day. Their house seems to be the main place for trades and meetings lately. Xan usually has Jesse disappear when they happen, safely tucked away in their bedroom. 

(Xan had a talk with Jesse about being disruptive, but since he’s been home more, Jesse’s been getting fed enough to keep his hunger at bay, and he’s had no reason to venture out now. He hears them ask about him, though. All the time.)

“Tell you what, Xan,” the man is saying, “Let me have a second with your boy an’ I’ll only charge half this time around.”

“He’s jus’ an errand kid. Don’t look at him like that.” There’s a possessive growl in Xan’s voice that makes Jesse break focus and look back at them from his spot at the dining table. 

They’re standing toe to toe, and the man has a few inches on him, but there’s a muscle twitching in Xan’s jaw from how hard it’s clenched, and he isn’t backing down. 

“Is that all he is? ‘Cause from what I hear, he shares a bed with you. Must be somethin’ else he’s good for y’ain’t tellin’ us about…” The man is grinning, but finally backs up. “Guess the price’ll be goin’ up for a while. Unless, of course, we can cut a deal…”

Xan cuts his eyes to Jesse, notices he’s staring. He softens his posture, but Jesse can tell he’s still so tense. Xan looks away, towards the ground, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Jess, baby, come here.”

**Author's Note:**

> My Overwatch/writing tumblr: BaadBaadBlackSheep


End file.
